As
a daily bike commuter in Troy (I work from home but take my
1 1/2-year-old daughter to and from day care on my bike),
I loved this week’s cover story [“Sharing the Road,” Sept.
4]. Despite the steep hill (it gets easier every time) between
my downtown home and the day-care center, Troy actually is
a very bikeable city, if you can find a destination that isn’t
out in the car-centric suburbs. Increasing use of bicycling
for everyday transportation and downtown urban revival are
two current trends that complement and foster each other in
a natural virtuous circle.

Alex
Dupuy

Troy

To
the Editor:

I
loved your article on cycling. I was recently in Boulder,
Colo., where there are bike trails alongside sidewalks everywhere,
so that bicyclists don’t have to take their lives in their
hands every time they ride. The lanes for bicycles are clearly
marked, as are lanes for pedestrians. This makes for a healthier
and safer city for everyone. Albany?

Bonnie
Steinbock

Albany

You
Sank Our Battleship

To
the Editor:

The
USS Slater is not a battleship. It’s a destroyer escort.

Throughout Ann Morrow’s otherwise excellent story [“Shooting
Completed,” Art Murmur, Sept. 4], she refers to the Slater
as a destroyer escort or DE. Great! But in her first sentence,
it’s a battleship. Battleships are to destroyer escorts as
tractor-trailers are to Mini Coopers.

Battleships were the biggest warships in World War II. They
took years to build and cost many millions of dollars. They
were protected with thick layers of armour plate made from
special steel alloys. They were designed to fight anything,
and losing a battleship was a national calamity.

Destroyer escorts were among the smallest warships in World
War II. They took weeks to build and cost little more than
an automobile does today. They were protected with nothing.
They were designed only to be “better than no ship at all,”
and losing a destroyer escort was inconsequential.

Michael
Trout

Selkirk

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